The Citizen, 2004-10-28, Page 23iVater
Cfiriatiaa Oval p
Oct. 31 - Eph. 3:20-4:16
"God-powered
Appliances"
"Fellowship Fun Night, Fri. 7-9 pm
at FE Madill SS Gym Wingham
10:30 a.m. - Contemporary Worship
& Sunday School
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Pastor: Ernest Dow - 523-4848
www.getlivingwater.org
6,1
St. Michael's
Roman Catholic Church It
254 Drummond St. E., Blyth
Saturday Night Mass
at 7:00 pm
Father John Johnson, Pastor
357-2435
• SNG A SONc OF
At9s e PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-4941
Auburn - 526-1131
Community Church
13‘sftlt‘
eN f LrOcj
"The Church is not a
Sunday 9:15 a.m. - Prayer Meeting
9:45 a.m. - Sunday School
11:00 a.m. - Worship Service
Phone 523-4875 308 Blyth Rd. E. — Pastor Les Cook 523-4590
to „ Building,
.0 It is People Touching
People"
BLYTH UNITED CHURCH
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Sunday, October 31
Worship Service & Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
Anniversary Cantata:
A Celebration in Song
Veleemme
Minister: Rev. Dr. Eugen Bannerman
Office: 523-4224
Blyth United Church is a welcoming community of faith.
We celebrate God's presence through worship and study, and through
responding to the needs and gifts of each other.
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Weteaate4, q,aa td coote
aace wevtaitefr wee% cea-
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31
Trinity, Blyth
9:30 a.m.
St. John's. Brussels
11:15 arr.. (S.
The Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv. 887-9273 I
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
11:00 a.m. - Sunday Morning Service
- Sunday School
9:30 a.m. - Sunday Belgrave Service
Wheelchair accessible
Nursery care available
Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831
Celebrating 150 years of Christian Witness and Service!
Reale 7:(xeft wend (A
Sunday, October 31
Morning Worship Service - 10 a.m.
Evening Worship Service - 7:30 p.m.
BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
Pastor John Kuperus
Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233
Wheelchair accessible .4\
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Joan Golden - Diaconal Student Minister
Church Office 887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wcl.on.ca
Sunday, October 31
Ethel United Church
9:30 a.m.
Worship Service & Sunday School
Brussels United Church
11:00 a.m.
Worship Service & Sunday School
What is God doing in West Africa?
Sunday, October 31
9:30 am Worship Service
Guest Speaker;
Anne Garber Kompaore,
linguistic coordinator with
Wycliffe Bible Translators in Burkina Faso
Anne is a mission partner with Mennonite
Church Canada Witness and will also share
during Adult Sunday School at 11:00 a.m.
Noon West African Meal
Brussels Mennonite Fellowship
invites you to come and celebrate the
mercy and goodness of Jesus Christ
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2004. PAGE 23.
From the Minister's Study
`What does God think of gambling?'
By Pastor John Kuperus
Blyth Christian Reformed Church
My wife and I and two of our
children. Joshua and Brianna, spent .
three days in Atlantic City, N.J. This
city is known for its casinos.
New Jersey was the second state in
the U.S. to legalize casino gambling
in 1978. but it-was limited to this one
worn-out resort city. Gambling
stayed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City
until the early 1990s, then casinos
were built all over the .U.S. and
Canada.
We stayed at the Taj Mahal to
attend a trade show. Trade shows are
drawn to this city because it is one of
the few places they have enough
lodging for big groups.
My wife enjoys going to this trade
show because of the excellent food
served. My kids enjoy all the glitter
and trinkets that they can collect. I go
because I am able to make good deals
and hear about what is new in the pet
industry.
As I was entering Atlantic City, I
found my adrenaline going up,
because there was something
happening here and I did not want to
miss out. Another part of me is
repulsed by the casinos. This is a trip
where the average visitor to a casino
will lose $37.96 per visit.
I know that the Bible does not say
"You shall not gamble." The question
I asked myself was, what does God
think about gambling? Is gambling a
good form of entertainment? How do
we come to an understanding of what
God's will is for gambling then?
I'd like to take you on a journey to
look at gambling and what is at the
heart of it.
To begin let's look at the benefits
of gambling. One of the comments I
hear about gambling is that it is no
big deal. It is a dollar and a dream. it
is a way for us to dream about money
we would never ever have access to.
It is nice to dream about being rich
and how we might spend all that
money.
Another benefit pointed out by the
American Gaming Association.
(AGA), is that this entertainment
creates thousands of jobs and that
gaming raises money against taxes,
which is true. There are a lot of
people employed in the gaming
industry and the government receives
a lot of tax revenue through
gambling. The .AGA point to the
boom in the economy wherever
gaming is established. They are a
way to build up a blighted area.
This entertainment is referred to as
gaming since 1995 instead of
gambling, because that sounds more
acceptable. Gaming or gambling
includes a host of things: lotteries,
slots and casinos, track events like
horse and dog racing. It includes
power ball, scratch-off tickets, video
games and three new forms of
gaming that have hit the market flight
gaming, internet gaming and
interactive cable.TV gaming.
Those who argue for gambling say
it's no different than doing anything
else in life. They claim that the
farmer who plants a crop is a
gambler, businesspeople who make
investments in merchandise are
undertaking a gamble and persons
who marry are gambling on a
relationship.
What is God's view on gambling?
First, in the Ten Commandments.
God commands us to have no other
gods before him.
Gambling can be defined as taking
an artificial risk and hoping for
excessive gain far beyond what the
investment of time. money or skill
would justify. When we gamble, we
call on the god of "Good Luck" to
help us.
Second, the Apostle Paul hits this
head on when he says,."But godliness
with contentment is great gain" (I
Timothy 6:6).
At the heart of why we gamble is
that we are not content with what we
have. Whenever wssay, "if only ...,
then I would be happy," it is then we
discover what our god is.'
When you hear an advertisement
for lottery, what do they advertise?
They tell you how large the jackpot
is. You have to play to win. It can be
argued that this is done all in the
name of entertainment. This
entertainment gets you to dream and
to have a hope. It captures your
imagination. When you are at the
casino, the dropping of coins in the
tray, the bells and whistles are all
ways to get our adrenaline going. I
get the feeling that I am missing out
on something if I do not play.
On Labour Day, my family and I
went to the beach in Goderich. It was
a wonderful day. I had placed my ring
in my hat and my wife picked up our
stuff and dumped the ring in the sand.
Sunday 9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
7:30 p.m.
Wednesday 6:30 p.m.
7:15 - 8:30 p.m.
7:15 p.m.
At first we had trouble determining
the exact spot we were and combed
the sand with our hands. Some other
people helped us look. I was the first
to give up. It was like looking for a
needle in a haystack. I was thankful
that I had the ring for eight years. I
never like to dwell on my- losses.
In the evening I asked our
neighbours if they knew anyone with
a metal detector. Someone in Myth
did and I asked to borrow it. He lent
it to me and I went back to the beach.
I went back and forth and I first found
a dime. Then it beeped again. I dug
and this time I found my ring. I
jumped up and down because I was
thrilled.
A man was watching me from his
car. He came out and his words to me
were, "you ought to play the slots."
He went on to tell me that he won
$26,000 on the slots. He told me that
I would have to do a lot of preaching
to make $26,000.
That man caught the spirit of our
time; I should not be happy with my
minister's salary. The god of luck
would take better care of me than the
God of the universe.
Third, the Apostle Paul speaks
God's word when he says, "People
who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a trap and into many
foolish and harmful desires that
plunge men into ruin and
destruction." Lusting after money
results in destruction. Can you tell me
stories of people who lost everything
in gambling? Can you tell me stories
of families ruined by the inability to
stop gambling?
Fourth, Jesus says, "Thus, by their
fruit you will recognize them"
(Matthew 7:20). I was on my
morning jog in Atlantic City as well.
I would jog up the boardwalk and
back into the city. What I observed
right across from the Taj, was a
Continued on page 26
- Family Bible Hour
- Morning Worship Service
Evening Worship Service
- Crusaders for grades JK-6
- Youth
Adult Bible Study
HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL
MISSIONARY CHURCH